Everything seems to be going well in Jack’s life. His store is busy making money hand over fist and his best friend has found love. The new bookkeeper at the store discovers things aren’t actually as they seem. Someone is playing fast and loose with the store accounts. Jack’s bestie and his knitting group fancy themselves detectives and jump at the chance to solve Jack’s problems. When they aren’t re-enacting scenes from Mission: Impossible, they’re setting Jack up on dates and generally insinuating themselves into his love life. They’re determined to find love for Jack as well as his missing money. Will Jack catch a thief or find love? Either way Jack’s going to get his man.

Excerpt

The first candidate arrived promptly at 9:30 or at least his mom did. Danny ushered an elderly lady with a stern bun into Jack’s office and made a hasty retreat.

Jack just stared at her until Izzy cleared her throat and poked him in the ribs. “I’m sorry,” she said when Jack kept staring. “We were expecting someone named Fred. Is that you?”

The woman looked first at Jack and then at Izzy. “Of course that’s not me,” she snapped. “What kind of name is Fred for a woman?”

“Er.. um,” Izzy stumbled. “Do you know where Fred is?”

The woman rolled her eyes and harrumphed. “He’s in the bathroom. He always gets nervous at interviews.”

“Um. Okay,” Izzy was quick to respond when she saw Jack opening his mouth. Knowing Jack nothing appropriate was coming out of his mouth at the moment. “Can you have a seat outside while we conduct the interview?” Izzy could do prim and proper when necessary.

The woman gave Izzy the evil eye before turning on her heel and walking out. They never saw Fred.

Jack was licking his fingers when Danny ushered in the next candidate. “Hi!,” the enthusiastic candidate nearly shouted. “I’m Tim!” That part was definitely shouted.

Jack and Izzy stood to shake the man’s hand. He swayed a bit as he leaned forward. Jack took a sniff, but didn’t smell anything untoward. Tim collapsed in his seat while Jack stared at his hand in disgust. Tim’s hands were sweaty. Jack’s mouth pulled tight in a grimace and his nose scrunched in disgust.

“So Tim. Why do you want this job?” Izzy’s voice was overly enthusiastic in an attempt to bring Tim’s attention to her so he wouldn’t see Jack’s grimace. She need not have bothered. Tim had leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. When he didn’t respond, Izzy snapped her fingers. “Tim?”

“Huh? What?” He started.

“Have you been drinking?” Jack didn’t even bother to ask in a polite manner.

Tim shrugged. “Just a tiny drink to settle my nerves.”

Jack stood. “Okay. Thanks a lot for coming. We’ll be in touch.”

Tim looked confused but managed to struggle to his feet and lurch out of the door. Izzy was giggling uncontrollably by the time Jack sat back down. He snorted. “At least this isn’t boring.”

Praise for the Book

"Overall, this book was a great, light, summer read. I enjoyed the characters, which for me included wanting to smack a few of them around. [...] this is a standalone book, and the first book doesn’t have to be read in order to follow the story. I would recommend this book to mystery fans who enjoy a quick read with a little romance thrown in." ~ C. Gerber "Egghead"

"I loved the characters and the plot in Jack Gets His Man. [...] The older women "detectives" are a hoot. I chuckled picturing them dressed for a stake out, all in black. They had to wear black scarves to cover their white hair! D.E. Haggerty writes wonderfully funny mysteries that have lots of detail and chuckles throughout. Actually the story itself isn't all that funny but the characters sure are." ~ Jo-Anne

"The Author give us an exquisite romantic cozy mystery, with humorous dialogues, playful situations, captivating characters and a very intriguing mystery. [...] I Loved it. This is a fun, really fun read!" ~ Julia

"I just love this sequel to Murder, Mystery, & Dating Mayhem. D. E. Haggerty is an amazing author with a style that is unlike any other. Jack is truly a man's man and truly lives a life envied by many others. This crazy murder mystery will make you sit up in your seat and pay attention like you never have before. I really would like to read more from this author in this series!" ~ Devon

Guest Post by the Author

Channeling a Gay Man

One of the most annoying things about being a writer is that all of my friends and family are convinced that each character in my books is based on someone I know or myself. I can’t deny that was true at the start of my writing career. My first novel, Unforeseen Consequences, is not only based upon persons I knew but all of the events in basic training actually happened to me or one of my fellow Army trainees.

But part of being a writer is learning to write characters that exist only in the writer’s imagination. Of course it’s easier to develop a character with whom you have some affinity. That’s why I’ve always stuck to writing books with women protagonists. I was cautious (okay freaked out) about writing a story from not only a man’s perspective but a gay man at that. What do I know about being a man, let alone a gay man? Eek!

So how the heck was I going to channel a gay man and write a story from his perspective? First, I took a chill pill and talked to myself reasonably. I am no longer that novice author that only writes stories about herself. I don’t know what it feels like to be an abused wife but yet I wrote Life Discardedwithout going into a panic attack (for very long). For that matter I have no idea what it’s like to be an abandoned child but that didn’t stop me from penning Buried Appearances.

Heck yeah I can do this! I may not know what it’s like to be a guy man but I sure as heck know what I find hot in a man and what qualities in a man are appealing. So that’s where I started. And then there’s the story itself. There’s definitely some mystery in there but in the end it’s also a love story. The fact that it’s a love story between two men doesn’t change the dynamics of love and relationships. There are still jealous exes and men that don’t want to commit and are just looking for a good time. Now to get to the dating part of the story. Is dating really different between two men or a man and a woman or two women? The same things are embarrassing – spinach in your teeth, spilling soup down your front, etc. Hang-ups are similar as well – scared to date due to past hurts, crazy exes, etc.

Jack Gets His Manis a light, romantic comedy. It doesn’t delve into the various issues and prejudices that homosexuals face in today’s society in the U.S. I think this made it easier for me to channel my inner gay man and write Jack’s story. I didn’t have to think about, let alone write, what it feels like to be treated poorly just because of your sexual orientation. Maybe that’s the coward’s way out but my goal was to write a fun read to help readers escape from everyday life.

I do have one tiny trick for channeling my characters, in this case a gay man, when I write. Unless my inner muse wakes me up, which the fairy is not wont to do, I do this one little thing each day before I begin to make words into sentences – I read the previous chapters of the manuscript to ‘get into character’. Sometimes I even read the dialogue aloud. It may sound silly but it is a great way to channel a character.

Hopefully with time and more writing experience I’ll learn to channel other characters further and further from my own experiences. Although I draw the line at aliens, I try and try but I just can’t make myself like sci-fi. Then again I did say I wouldn’t ever write a romantic comedy.

From the Author

I was born and raised in Wisconsin, but think I’m a European. After spending my senior year of high school in Germany, I developed a bad case of wanderlust that is yet to be cured. My flying Dutch husband and I have lived in Ohio, Virginia, the Netherlands, Germany, and now Istanbul. We still haven’t decided if we want to settle down somewhere – let alone where.

Although I’ve been a military policewoman, a commercial lawyer, and a B&B owner, I think with writing I may have finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up. That’s assuming I ever grow up, of course.

Between tennis, running, traveling, singing off tune, drinking entirely too many adult beverages, and reading books like they are going out of style, I write articles for a local expat magazine and various websites, review other indie authors’ books, write a blog about whatever comes to mind and am working on my sixth book.

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